Red Sunrise
by Vampellzy
Summary: A sequel to the first film. Rippner needs Lisa's help, both are in danger and have to run. Standard disclaimer.
1. Chapter 1

Red Eye

21st April

Rippner lay in the hospital bed and his eyes flickered. He was aware of the IV piercing the delicate skin on the inside of his elbow. He was alone in a private room. Watching from under his eyelids, he saw a policeman passing the space outside his room whom he could see clearly through a space in the curtain surrounding his bed. He felt as if a steamroller had given him a good going over. His throat and the wound on his leg had been bandaged up and when he surveyed the shot wound on his chest. Stitches had been placed. He grunted angrily. The bitch had really done a number on him. He watched the policeman and surveyed his surroundings. He needed to leave, if he allowed himself to be arrested then the men who had until recently been his bosses would find some way to get to him and he didn't particularly want to end up shot in the back of the head execution style. He popped out the IV and dropped it on the floor. He stepped onto the floor, his legs weak after lack of use during the last few weeks. He glanced out of the window. He appeared to be on the ground floor. Good, it made his plan easier. He waited for the guard outside his room to turn away before leaving the bed and dropping to the floor. Catching hold of the heart monitor plug, he tore it out before racing to the other side of the room. As he suspected, the guard was through the door as soon as he heard the beeping. Rippner was ready for him. He spun his leg around to trip the guard up as he closed the door behind him. Quickly, he delivered a blow with perfect accuracy that would put him out for several hours.

A few minutes later he was walking out of the hospital, in a disguise that nobody would stop. He stepped out into the sunlight, ready to disappear for good this time.

19th June

She walked from the hotel, relishing her freedom. She hadn't thought about Rippner in over three month. It was a good day. He was gone and couldn't terroriser her or her family any longer. For a long time, her father had made her check in every other day or so and still called if she left it any longer than a week. She had left her car in the hotel car park and on impulse had set off on foot. She would take the monorail. She needed to remind herself of her independence.

Sliding the key into the door to her apartment, she sighed. It was good to be home. She was barely into the flat when she found herself seized. A hand covered her mouth, while another seized her wrists. He kicked the door closed as she let her handbag drop to the floor.

"Miss me?" A chill ran through her blood. Rippner. "Fortunately for you I need you alive." Hearing this, she jerked her wrists down, spun around and kicked him. He fell back into the wall. She lunged across the room towards teh telephone. "Stop." She froze as she heard the click of the safety being taken off a handgun. "You see I can't kill you but you don't need to be able to walk." She turned to see him holding a police issue firearm. She raised her hands, swallowing loudly.

"I thought you were dead."

"Didn't take. Now get over there." He gestured toward the bed. He rolled his eyes at her look. "If that was what I wanted, don't you think that I would have taken it already."

"What do you want?"

He gave a short harsh laugh.

"It was just one small job, one phone call. And someone decides to be a hero and now I'm running for my life. You remember the nice people I work for? They do not appreciate failures."

"And what is this to me?"

"Well I figure this will be the last place they look for me."

"What on earth would make you think that I would help you?"

The phone rang. Lisa moved toward it out of habit.

"Leave it."

"It could be my dad and if I don't answer he will most likely call the police." Rippner strode across the room and lifted the receiver.

"Hi Lisa, I'm just calling to see if your ok... Lisa." Rippner covered the receiver.

"There was another reason I came to you. From what I've managed to glean from old sources, Lisa Reisart is the name just below mine on the hit list, if you get what I mean." He laid the gun on the floor much to her surprise. "Yes that could be a lie. I'm giving you a choice." He held out the receiver. Narrowing her eyes warily, she took it.

"Lisa are you there?" She took a deep breath.

"Hi Dad."

"Lisa are you ok?" Looking up at him, she saw that he had an odd look in his eyes, something she couldn't make out.

"I'm fine. I was in the shower."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup, I'm great. Never better. I have to go actually. Bye. Love you." She forced a smile into her voice before replacing the receiver. She returned her gaze to Rippner. "I'm listening."


	2. Chapter 2

"My guess is that will make their move pretty soon. They've been hunting me ever since I escaped from the hospital. I've had to put down three agents on my tail since then."

"When you say 'put down'..."

"Don't get all squeamish, you killed that man on your driveway and you had a pretty good stab at doing the same to me, no pun intended."

"In self – defence and in defence of someone I loved."

"The point is that, you could do and did do what you had to, given the right circumstances."

"But you're a killer, you don't discriminate, didn't you say it was your job?" She edged towards the gun on the floor.

"Rather to facilitate than to carry out, but yes I can kill when the need arises with no hesitation which by the by makes us no different." She grasped the gun.

"We are completely different; I could never do what you do."

"Did. May I remind you that the very fact, that I no longer work for these people is what brings me here." he looked at the gun pointed in her hand. "I know that you don't trust me to leave you unharmed which is why I gave that to you. You can shoot me if you really want but I ask you to bear in mind that I can and will help you as long as you do the same. I cannot protect you if you kill me now."

"Thanks for permission." She raised the gun. "And why should I believe you?" He turned his pale gaze on her, his eye showcased a weariness both of body and spirit.

"You have the gun. But you made your decision when you put down the phone. Right now, I need sleep." Without asking for permission, he walked over to her sofa, not once looking at her and lay down, closing his eyes. She waited for the sound of rhythmic breathing yet she remained, still not sure that she felt safe even then. She considered pulling the trigger. No she wouldn't be like him. She put the thing down on the table with distaste. She paced over to the door and locked it, pulling across each bolt with a firm decisive push. She needed to think. She set the kettle boiling, remembering, with horror Rippner's speech on the plane about having watched her for weeks. She walked over to the curtains, pulling them across, disliking that it was now dark in the daytime. She flicked the switches one by one excepting those in the hall and bedroom/ living room.

She was startled by the click of the kettle as it rumbled its way to boiling point. The familiar automotive action of making tea calmed her and she began to think clearly as shock gave way to rational thought processes if he was telling the truth, her father was in danger. That would be the first move, to warn him, tell him to get away, after that she had to disappear, somehow.

She walked over to the bed and sat with him in the dark room, turning the situation over in her mind as she sipped her drink and watched him warily. A thought struck her. There was one sure way of making sure no-one died in this room. She pulled out the ammunition and dropped it back onto the pillow. It wasn't empty; he had literally placed his life in her hands. This surprised her. She let it drop onto the floor and kicked it under the bed. It wasn't going to be hurting anyone, any time soon. She reflected that she could always knock him over the head with it if he tried anything. Despite her attempts to fight her drooping eyelids as she sat for hours in the position of a rabbit locked in with a sleeping snake. Even if the rabbit had teeth and claws of its own. Finally, she slept. She would later marvel at how such an improbable event had occurred

Lisa jerked awake and reflexively felt for the weapon. Her eyes met Rippner's as he watched her from across the room. She realised with a start and a glance at clock on her bedside table that the both of them had been asleep for several hours. He had most likely probably been watching her for some time, unsure of what to do, though it still sent an unpleasant shiver through her body.

"It's a very unwise decision to let down your guard while a person you do not trust is in the same room, no matter how un-threatening they appear. I take this to mean that you trust me enough to help you and are not planning to shoot me."

"The jury is still out but you showed a gesture of good faith in giving me the gun, so yes. What is your plan?"


	3. Chapter 3

"I have to call my father." Lisa picked at her cuticles as she ran hurriedly through her options.

"Inadvisable. If they haven't targeted him already, they'll be watching him because of you." She turned around to face him.

"So I don't tell him where we're going, I don't even know myself yet."

"All right but don't do it yet." He strode over to her wardrobe and pulled open the doors. She briefly allowed herself to be disconcerted by the fact that he knew where she stored her suitcase. He dragged out the smallest he could find and dumped it on her bed. "Pack only what you need, its better if we travel light. We can buy anything else on the way." He slid a wallet out of a jacket pocket and brandished a credit card. "Untraceable without our names."

"You mean you stole it."

"No; its a false identity."

"Won't they know it from before?"  
>"Do you honestly think that I would keep the same identity after my cover had been blown. My job was to plan these things, that's why I'm so dangerous to them." His mouth formed into a grim smile. "And if they don't back off, I'll use what I know against them." Lisa threw the usual weekend away kit together, minus the heels as Rippner watched outside through a gap in the curtain.<p>

Twenty minutes later, after retrieving the bullets from under the bed, they were leaving the flat. She pulled out her mobile phone and rapidly typed in the digits. She tensed as the dialling tone changed into the calling ring; moving alongside Rippner down the length of the hall and toward the staircase. Her watch made it about three fifty in the morning. She muttered under her breath, hoping her father hd fallen asleep on the sofa while watching TV, that way the phone would be in the same room as him.

"Lisa, what's wrong, has something happened? Are you OK?" He would have continued had she not silenced him by the frantic tone of her voice.

"Listen dad, you have to get out of there. The men responsible for what happened in February are still active. I'm leaving and I can't tell you where I'm going. But I'm worried that they'll get to you if I disappear."

"Lisa, you're not making any sense."

"Just trust me." Rippner took the phone from her.

"You do not know me; my name is not important, what you need to know is that you and your daughter are in danger. It concerns the trouble that you encountered several months ago."

"Are they back? Are they trying to hurt Lisa? Who are you?"

"Yes, I am taking your daughter into hiding, I suggest you do the same. Do not call this number again. She will contact you when she needs to through another source." He called off, Before Lisa's eyes, he pulled out the battery and the sim card. "They can and will track this number, it needs to be destroyed. He dropped the battery down the stairwell and slipped the now empty phone into the bag he was carrying.

"You should have let me talk to him, say goodbye."

"There was no time, we have to get out of here."

"We didn't bring my car keys." She had had just about enough of his tone.

"We can't take your car." They reached the ground floor. "The licence plate is most likely on their radar. You would do well to hide your face."

"No, I am not getting on any form of public transport with you." Lisa watched as the bus pulled into the station as she held the paper ticket in her hand.

"Well by all means stay and get caught. Look, I promised that I would not get you killed and I'll keep that promise whether you want me to or not. You are getting on that bus. I have no intention of leaving you behind." He grasped her upper arm and pulled her toward the station. They received strange looks from other people at the station. "Try not to look as if I'm kidnapping you."

"Well if it looks like that is what your doing perhaps you should modify your behaviour towards me. You look like a predator. I thought somebody like you would know about body language." They boarded the bus and showed their tickets. Rippner led her to the very back. "Are you going to tell me about these men that are after me?" She stowed her bags under the seats.

"There's not much to tell, European, thugs, even I was not subject to the knowledge of who exactly was running the operation. But they are not the only people that we have to worry about. My employers may have got wind of their little revenge scheme. In an effort to disassociate themselves with the entire mess, they may send their own people after us as well."

"Is there anyone who isn't after us?"

"As far as I know the FBI were looking into my case during my spell in the hospital. If you go missing shortly after my disappearance. It is very likely that they may assume kidnap and be hunting for me. Though that needn't concern you."

"Three?" She became aware that she had raised her voice.

"Keep your voice down." She glanced down at his hand on her arm. He removed it at her look. The few passengers in the bus returned their eyes to the front of the enclosed space. "It is imerative that we not draw any form of undesired attention. The bus drew away from the station. Silence fell between them.

The bus pulled in at a motel for several minutes to allow the passengers to stretch their legs and this was where Rippner directed her to get off. Bags in hand they stepped down on the gravel. They had spoken not one word since their conversation had drifted to a rather abrupt halt. Lisa looked over to him as the bus pulled away.

"What about the tickets? We bought the full journey."

"We need somewhere to hide out and think. Besides, our greatest advantage is in being unpredictable." He glanced around. "We would do well to get a room where we would not be overheard." He took her suitcase. "I will make a call. The check in desk is through that door. He handed her a roll of banknotes. She took it not wanting to think about what she was doing. She approached the front desk.

"Can I help you?" The young man behind the counter smiled pleasantly and hovered with his hands over the keyboard.

"Yes, I would like ..." She glanced back at Rippner. He seemed to have dissapeared. "Two rooms, please."

"Oh, honey, don't be like that, I told you I was sorry." She tried not to show the ice creeping up her spine as Rippner seemed to appear from nowhere and slipped his arm around her waist. He turned to the clerk. "It's our anniversary but I say one little thing about my sister in law and ..." The clerk nodded sympathetically. She tried to play along.

"Well, I thought it was rude and uncalled for."

"But she did ..."

"Honey, let's not discuss it here. Why don't you take care of things here? I need some air after that long journey. " He stared at her pointedly as she shrugged out of his embrace.

"The one room please. She'll change her mind in a minute." He smiled at the clerk. Lisa stepped out into the warm desert. The air conditioning gone, she might as well have said, she stepped out for some heat. After a few minutes had gone by in which she was trying not to look like she was attempting to escape. After a few minutes Rippner joined her, his hand on the small of her back. It still creeped her out how easily he could slip into his fake friendly persona. She had been taken for a ride when she first met him. "We need to maintain the appearance of anything other than what we are. If two strangers arrive together and check into different rooms, that's suspicious. But a young couple on an anniversary, that's normal."

"Fine. Well if we're playing at being a couple, could you not sound so much like the misogynist ass that you really are because no girl in her right mind would have marry that kind of guy after the fifties." His lips tightened.

"All right." She took her suitcase from him and strode down the passageway, the number key that he had given her in her hand. The room was a nice double with a TV. She thanked whoever was responsible for its presence there. She went straight for the bathroom . She would like to have showered but knowing that Rippner was in the next room prevented her from daring that. Instead she did her best to freshen up with out one before emerging. Rippner sat patiently on the bed with his hands on his knees.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Chicago." He didn't skip a beat.

"Why?"

"You don't need to know that."

"If I'm to be a part of this, I think I should at least know what the plan I."

"You will, when I trust you not to go to the police."

"I'm not going to the police."

"Nevertheless, you're on a need to know basis."

"I don't like it."

"I don't require you to like it, only to understand it." She frowned and crossed her arms.

"I'm going out to get some food." She hadn't eaten on the bus and she didn't fancy staying another moment with him.

She threw down the food on the bed and ripped open the nearest carton, realising just how hungry she was. She did not look at Rippner who quietly sat in the chair across from her and took one of the offerings gingerly. They ate in silence. After some minutes she worked up the courage to seize the remote and turn on the TV. She turned on a crime drama that neither of them particularly wanted to watch. it was more for the silence than anything. She had figured out something while she had got the sandwiches. It was very likely that he would turn her over and was just keeping her until he was in a position to gain the most from the deal. Well, she had decided. Two could play that game and if what he said was correct, then he was just as much an asset as she was when it came to leverage.

"So what now? Is there anything we should be doing?"

"Sleeping. There is nothing we can do right now."

He sank further into the chair and crossed his arms. The discussion was clearly over.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry about the shortness. Thought might want to know what's happening. Enjoy. _

He woke her quietly from her uncomfortable position on the chair. Gender equality sometimes kicked you in the back. And it felt a little as if someone had. It wasn't a recliner. Having only got to sleep a couple of hours beforehand she was understandably uncooperative. He shook her again. She blinked and checked her watch.

"It's four o' clock in the morning."

"Yes and the bus we need will arrive in thirty minutes. Don't make me ask you again?" She pulled her blanket around her. "We don't have time to shower. Some clean clothes are on the dresser."

They were by the road within twenty minutes. Lisa could feel the beginnings of a sleep deprivation headache. She had a feeling it would be a long day. The bus pulled up and they got on.

"So, exactly where are we?" She settled into a seat in the middle of the bus. She could tell that Rippner felt uncomfortable in such an exposed situation. She wasn't sure why he insisted on taking the aisle seat, it wasn't as if it was in her best interests to run away.

"Georgia."

"Ever specific and descriptive. Wait, you mean we have to be on this bus for a whole night and day?"

"It could have been worse."

"How?"

"My other contact is in Colorado."

"And you're still not telling me." As the sun came up, Lisa pulled the curtain over but it stuck halfway. She sighed and snuggled up against the seat, resting her head against the window pane. Rippner sighed exasperatingly at something and dug in his bag. A pair of sunglasses appeared in front of her half – closed eyes. She frowned at them for a moment before taking them and slipping them on. "Thank You." He grunted.

"I can't have you dropping from sleep deprivation." He settled into the seat beside her, shifting his eyes over watchfully to the front of the bus. Once or twice his hand twitched for a weapon he didn't have anymore. Lisa didn't care about the obvious vulnerability Rippner felt without any obvious means of protecting himself, she cared only about the sleep she wanted to get back. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

When she woke it was afternoon and a jacket had mysteriously appeared which covered her like a blanket. Rippner's eyes were closed but he wasn't sleeping. She was surprised that he had let his guard down for a moment. But then she couldn't think of many people who would be able to stay alert for so long on such a long bus ride. She looked over at his watch. She had been sleeping for twelve hours. Clearly she had needed it. She reached over Rippner for her bag on the seat beside them. There had been no room in the overhead for it. His hand caught her wrist before she had even made it halfway. He relaxed when he saw it was her.

"Sorry, force of habit." He released her wrist. He handed her the bag. She pulled out her bottle of water and sipped. Swallowing the liquid made her realise that she was in desperate need of the toilet. Rippner reluctantly let her out of his sight. He didn't wait for her outside this time but when she returned to their seats, she could sense that he had been tense while she was gone. She wondered what it must be like to live in such a high stress environment all the time. Then she wondered why she cared at all. It would probably be better for her if he did suffer a heart attack from stress. The bus stopped once or twice to refuel and Lisa convinced him to at least let her stretch her legs in the parking lot. She desperately wanted to call her father and saw the payphones that were only a few meters away. She knew it was too dangerous.

When they returned to the bus, night had fallen. Rippner was blinking rapidly and his hands were balled into fists. She recognised the signs of exhaustion. He had been up for almost fifteen hours and had probably had no more than five hours sleep.

"We can switch places. I can keep guard. I need something to do anyway."

"It's fine." He spoke through gritted teeth. "I'll be fine."

"How are you going to stay alert if your dead on your feet by the time we reach Chicago?"

"I'll manage somehow."

"You know, you're going to have to learn to trust me sometime, if you don't then you're putting us both in danger." She could see his resolve cracking.

"How do I know you won't leave me here?"

"I could have done that at the Motel."

"But where would you have gone?"

"It doesn't matter. Look, we'll be here for a few more hours and you need to sleep." She used her best customer service persuasion voice and gradually felt him caving. They did switch places and he eventually slept. It was strange to see him without a fake smile or the perpetual frown. Sh kept her eyes, dutifully on the front of the bus, though what they would do exactly in the event of someone dangerous boarding the bus, she had no idea. When they pulled into the bus station, she nudged him awake. She envied his apparent ability to be immediately alert upon waking and decided it must be from training. Then disembarked and slipped into a taxi. She didn't recognise the place that Rippner asked the man to drive to. They were discharged from the taxi and Rippner paid in the precise amount, leaving little in the way of a tip.

The small building was a record shop dubbed 'Late Night Records' with flats above from the look of it. There was a bell in the door which sounded loudly, making her jump when it closed behind them. A man with very dark hair and an even darker jacket appeared from below the counter. He put his palms on the counter. His demeanour was reasonable, even friendly. Lisa found herself wondering how Rippner knew someone who seemed so ordinary. But then she remembered that Rippner could be ever so charming when he wanted to be. He nodded at them as they passed, not bothering to move. Rippner lead her into a back room. He lifted a well concealed trap door and descended into a basement. She hesitated for a moment before following him down. She debated the wisness of descending into a dark cellar with a killer but knew she could handle herself. The switch flicked and halogen light bulbs buzzed into life revealing something she didn't expect.

"Guns. You brought us all the way here for guns." He had opened a cabinet that boasted one of the largest collections of weaponry that she had ever seen. Of course the largest collection she had seen was her Uncle's expansive hunting rifles collection.

"Did you think that we would defend ourselves from these people with hockey sticks?" She felt a wave of guilt before remembering that he had been trying to kill her at the time. He handed her a 15mm. She held it out in front of her, away from her body.

"It isn't loaded?"

"I can't imagine why you would think it was."

"Just checking." He continued to pull out weapons until he found what he was looking for. A semi- automatic handgun. Lisa sighed and sat down on the carpet. It was clear they were going to be some time. When Rippner was quite happy with their newly stocked arsenal, for which he used her bag. Once they were done Rippner lead her up the stairs in the back of the shop into a small living room that had a single bay window looking out over the lights of the city.

"What are we doing here?" Lisa dumped her bag by the doorway and remained standing, reluctant to sit down again after so many hours of doing just that.

"We'll be here for a few days. Ron is ex – military, trustworthy. There are a few other things I need to while we're here."

"Yes but what exactly?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Lisa sighed in frustration and went into the bathroom to wash up.

_So what do you think? Too rushed? Should I be doing more of anything?_


End file.
